Indian Community in Australia

Tomorrow morning 28 July: Don’t miss longest lunar eclipse of the 21^st century to shine bright red in Australia’s early morning sky. You will have a red mon and a red planet. It is a lovely coincidence.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the earth’s shadow moves across the moon, blocking out from the sun. It will last for 1 hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds.

If you live in the eastern states, you’ll see the fully eclipsed Moon sitting right on the western horizon before it slips out of sight in the dawn twilight.

“That will be a really nice effect, to see this low-hanging Moon totally eclipsed and lovely and red in the western sky as we’re getting up in the morning,” Dr Hill said.

Just how much of the total eclipse you’ll see depends upon how far north you live.

“The Moon sets earlier as you move north,” she explained.

Unfortunately, if you live in New South Wales, the ACT or Queensland you will miss out on the final minutes of the total eclipse (so technically it’s not the longest totally eclipsed moon you’ll actually see this century).

If you live in Western Australia you’ll not only see the entire total eclipse, you’ll also see the Moon come out of the eclipse before it slips below the horizon.

During totality, the Moon will be set against a dark sky and appear redder than in the pre-dawn twilight in the eastern states.